Speak

Content Ratings

No Romance

There is no romance; the central sexual content is the rape of the protagonist at age fourteen, which is described with restraint but is the psychological core of the entire novel.

Intense Themes

The entire novel centers on a teenage girl's PTSD, mutism, and social withdrawal following rape; themes of silence, shame, victim isolation, and the failure of adults to recognize a student in crisis are sustained and emotionally intense throughout.

Moderate Violence

A sexual assault of a fourteen-year-old occurs at the novel's emotional center; a second attack by the same perpetrator occurs near the end; the acts are not graphically described but their emotional and psychological impact is sustained throughout.

Synopsis

Starting high school friendless and isolated after calling the police at a summer party, freshman Melinda slowly withdraws from speaking almost entirely, until her work in art class begins to give her a way to process the truth about why she called the police: she was raped at that party by an upperclassman who still walks the school halls. A quiet, deeply affecting story about trauma, survival, and the long road toward speaking one's truth.